Is this a "No Duh" moment for anybody else?

Damocles

Damocles

Accedo!
Staff member
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7891132.stm

Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'

There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.

Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.

He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.

More at link...
 
...many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.
Click to expand...

Okay... Is it just human arrogance, or is there some scientific reason to believe we are the most intelligent life forms in the galaxy? If the Big Bang created the universe way back when, then all of these "billions of planets like Earth" have had the same opportunity to form life. In fact, some of them may have been destroyed less by meteors, some may have more abundant life-supporting elements and resources like water and oxygen.

There is also the question of evolutionary process, and if it works universally in different environments. Just because Earth produced human intelligence, it doesn't mean another earth-like planet would do the same. Perhaps a planet exists where intelligence is dominated by plant life or aquatic life forms? Perhaps this intelligence is far more advanced than our own?

When you consider the universe is over 4.5 billion years old, and you look at the emergence of human intelligence over just the past 10,000 years, how do we know there isn't far more intelligent beings in our galaxy? When we look at what human intelligence has accomplished in just the past 500 years, can we even imagine a civilization which has a 5-million-year head start on us?

One thing is for certain, if Earth was given the precious resources for life to emerge as it has, then other planets must have received the same elements, it all came from the same original source. So it is most likely, if life forms emerged here, they emerged all across the galaxy in some state. And if life forms here evolved and advanced, it is most likely they behaved the same in other places. The question is, what are those life form like?

We can speculate through the scope of our human imaginations, but again, we have human arrogance. We tend to imagine things we can imagine, and discount things we can't imagine as impossible. Is it possible there are planets teaming with weird sci-fi type creatures of intelligence, like the nightclub scene in Star Wars? Sure... just like it's possible there is a planet with life forms identical to our own. But it is also possible life can take many forms we simply aren't capable of imagining or comprehending. Not only is this possible, it is most probable.
 
Not to me. Its only referring to the Milky Way (which is a narrow search, astronaumically speaking). Interesting, stuff though. My favorite find was some years back, they spotted a planet roughly the same size as the Earth that was orbiting at the same distance around another yellow star.
 
Threedee said:
Not to me. Its only referring to the Milky Way (which is a narrow search, astronaumically speaking). Interesting, stuff though. My favorite find was some years back, they spotted a planet roughly the same size as the Earth that was orbiting at the same distance around another yellow star.
Click to expand...

Ahhh... but did it have the same rotational orbit, wobble on its axis, atmosphere, and atmospheric pressure as Earth? Did it contain the same "building blocks" for life as we know it? Was it's sun of the same intensity and magnitude, thus producing the same climatic conditions on the planet? Did it have a moon of a precise size and dimension, so as to create tides and keep the planet in geosynchronous harmony in it's orbit?

If some 'astronomer' on a distant planet were to peek at our solar system, they might consider Earth and Mars to be the same relative distance from our Sun. That in itself, means very little.

There is also this... We are bound by our own knowledge and understanding. Science has taught us that life requires certain elements, or "building blocks" to form and thrive. BUT... What may we not be aware of? Could there be different elements which enable life elsewhere? Elements unbeknown to man, because they simply don't exist in abundance in our solar system, or we've not yet discovered them? Keep in mind, in our solar system, water in liquid state only exists on Earth, as far as we know. This is a prerequisite for life... as far as we know or understand regarding life. What if the oxygen and hydrogen elements are just a portion of the possible elements which can combine to form a "building block" for life forms?

I have said this before, in my arguments on Intelligent Design theory... We are like little infant babies in a crib which is in a darkened room. We are aware of what is inside the crib, we know there is more out there, but a profound understanding of that, we do not have.
 
I am a believer in ID, so I am by no means trying to attack my own philosophy. Naturally, the Hubble can't identify anything else you mentioned about the planet except possibly its rotational axis. Space travel with manned exploration teams is going to have to come online in new and advanced ways before we can ever answer those questions about any planet outside of our own solar system.
 
I think there are some other animals that are nearly as intelligent as humans. But what sets us apart from most other animals isn't really our intelligence, IMHO. It's our desire to communicate - which infinitely enhances our knowledge.
 
Mostly its our ability to manipulate our knowledge (technology). Anthropologists have found that the human brain mass has expanded throughout history as a result of our growing reliance on and grasp of new technology (rock, fire, wheel, electricity, fission, etc.).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top